Subramanian (Subu) Iyer

Pioneer in the development and implementation of embedded DRAM (eDRAM) technology used in IBM systems ranging from high-end servers to BlueGene supercomputers to game chips, Iyer has served as IBM Fellow and Chief Technologist at the Microelectronics Division, IBM Systems & Technology Group in Hopewell Junction, New York, responsible for technology strategy and competitiveness, embedded memory, and 3 Dimensional Integration. He is recognized for his pioneering development and implementation of embedded Dynamic Random Access Memory (eDRAM), which boosted the power of computer processors for applications ranging from high-end servers to gaming consoles and personal electronics. DRAM technology is a dense memory that can be fabricated on high performance Logic chips, used in IBM systems ranging from high-end servers to BlueGene supercomputers to game chips. The on-chip memory solution enabled more memory to be placed on smaller chips, resulting in systems with higher performance.

He was also the driving force in IBM's commercialization of eDRAM, guiding it through all stages of development, and it became a standard feature of IBM's application-specific integrated circuits. Iyer recognized the need for large amounts of high-density, high-performance, and high-bandwidth memory placed close to the integrated circuit to fully exploit the power of computer processors and, throughout his career, has looked for new ways to solve complex problems. At IBM, he and his colleagues demonstrated the first SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor, used extensively in wireless communication. The team also developed on-chip programmable electrical Fuses, a technology that allows semiconductor chips to "self-repair" and for the circuits on a chip to be reconfigured even after the chip has left fabrication facilities. He also led the development of IBM's 45 nm CMOS technologies.

Iyer obtained his B.Tech. degree in Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering at the University of California at Los Angeles. He joined the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in 1981 and served as Manager of the Exploratory Structures and Devices Group until 1994, when he founded SiBond LLC to develop and manufacture Silicon-on-insulator materials. He joined the IBM Microelectronics Division in 1997. His highly sought after expertise has helped solve broad and detailed technical challenges in the semiconductor and related areas.

A Master Inventor, Iyer has received several awards. He was presented with two Corporate awards and four Outstanding Technical Achievement awards at IBM for the development of the Titanium Salicide process, the fabrication of the first SiGe Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor, the development of embedded DRAM technology, and the development of eFUSE technology. In 2010 he was named IBM Fellow, the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve. An IEEE Fellow, he received the 2012 IEEE Daniel Nobel award for emerging technologies. Earlier, he received the Distinguished Alumnus award from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 2004.

He has authored over 175 articles in technical journals as well as several book chapters, and co-edited a book on bonded SOI. Iyer has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University, New York.